Thanks for your comment @57special !
My main selling point to the D1 schools I’m targeting is: I can go to your school for free, I don’t need a scholarship, I just need a spot. Some coaches have responded really well to that. Unfortunately I can’t use that as leverage for the Ivies because they don’t offer scholarships anyway, so I have slightly less to offer in that regard.
As for my baseball skills, I would say my one “eye popping” stat is my pop time. It’s consistently 1.9 or under with accuracy. I am also pretty agile and athletic due to my size (not very bulky) so I’m quick. I’m just not very fast (7.1-7.2 60 
). But I’m working on it! I’m 6’1" 165 but lanky. Trying to bulk up but I’m just a naturally lean person.
Thank you for your comment. It was very encouraging and good luck to your S1!
1.9 is great. 7.1-2 is superb for a catcher. Size is also not an issue…coaches will project you filling out. Keep working out and eat like a hog. S1 is 5’9". Coaches eyes glaze over when they see that. If he had the exact same stats, but was 6’3", he would be beating coaches off.
Can you hit? Exit velo OK? That's kind of where the rubber meets the road with most players, though it is slightly less important with catchers.
Otherwise, I can't see where you wouldn't get some interest from D1 schools. Just keep flogging yourself. BTW, if you aren't looking for a scholarship, why not consider very good D3 baseball schools like JHU, WUSTL, Tufts and Emory which also have excellent academics? D1 can be a grind, and impact your studies. D3 has it's charms.
I’ve looked at some of the smaller schools, two that you mentioned where there is mutual interest. I want to do a business undergrad, MBA after 5 years and then go to law school most likely, so I’m looking for a school with a strong business program. WUSTL is one of my top choices. Olin is an amazing business school, nationally ranked top 10 in almost every list.
Also, it’s not that I’m not looking for a scholarship necessarily, but if that can help me get on a D1 roster then I don’t need one because of my academics. I might end up D3 if the business program is strong enough but we shall see. I do kind of want a bigger college experience but smaller colleges have their perks as well.
As for hitting, I consider myself an above average hitter. My exit velo is so-so (77 mph this time last year, haven’t measured it since, but probably around 80) but I consistently barrel the ball up. Lots of singles and doubles with some gap to gap power. I might not impress to much in a session of BP (just a bunch of line drives) but over the course of the season I tend to stay around or above .400. That’s always my goal: hit .400. Other stats follow with a high batting average.
Thanks for the input, quick question: because I want to do a dual degree program and get my MBA in five years, I might be able to redshirt. Is that something I should make known to coaches when reaching out to them or no? Is that more something to do once I’ve made a team?
@nhparent9 that last comment was directed for you by the way! Thank you
Redshirting is an interesting approach, and may be viable with some schools. It seems like some coaches embrace the redshirt concept while others don’t seem to like the approach at all. I guess my advice might be to research a few years of rosters at target schools (almost always available on-line) and see if there is more than one or two redshirt guys. The reason I say to maybe consider multiples is if there is a random one or two guys here or there it more likely is a medical redshirt issue. Just remember, you get 4 years of eligibility to utilize within 5 years.
I didn’t think redshirting was common in baseball.
Its not.
@nhparent9 @twoinanddone well I looked it up and the ivies don’t even allow redshirting… not even for medical reasons! Some basketball player from Columbia a few years back actually withdrew from school and enrolled the next year just so he could play his senior year which he would have missed due to injury. Seems odd they don’t allow it if they will let kids do stuff like that. I think I will mention that option to some of the bigger time D1 programs I am in contact with but obviously stay away from it with the more academically inclined schools.
I don’t think redshirting is encouraged in most sports unless there is a medical issue. One of my daughter’s teammates had a redshirt year due to medical reasons, but she then transferred schools so it was more that she had 3 years of eligibility remaining (and switched sports, and got permission from the NCAA to play as a grad student …).
Since baseball has roster size limits, that’s going to be a bigger issue than redshirting or not needing a scholarship.
There was a Yale basketball player, Brandon Sherrod, a couple of years back who took off for one year to sing with the Whiffenpoofs (a famous Yale male a cappella singing group) and retained his year of eligibility.
BTW, only U Penn has a formal undergrad business program in the Ivies. Cornell has some business related schools. Three of my roommates went on to obtain MBA’s (at Harvard, Stanford and U Mich), but only after working for 2/3 years. Two were Econ/Poli Sci majors and 1 was Comp Sci. The top MBA programs rarely admit students straight out of undergrad. Personally, I was on Wall Street for close to 20 years and worked first for a law firm and then a bulge bracket investment bank (as a banker not lawyer). I preferred applicants with strong quant backgrounds. In fact, in many ways I preferred liberal arts majors over business undergrads. Critical thinking and the ability to write and otherwise express yourself clearly are more important than having taken undergrad courses in financial or management/organizational theory. That stuff you can pick up as an MBA candidate or through real world experience. Bottom line, you seem a smart well rounded kid. Use your time in a great academic school to improve your mind, broaden your horizons and maybe play ball rather than go down a narrow vocational path. There is plenty of time for that.
If you want to compress your educational time, a joint JD/MBA program may be a better road. Enjoy your 4 years of college. Don’t make it an excessive grind.
Wharton undergrads from Penn don’t have much trouble finding Wall Street jobs, the demand is pretty high. Most Wharton undergrads don’t bother with the MBA as it is generally not necessary.
As far as redshirting in the Ivy, I don’t know what to tell you other than guys absolutely miss individual years and maintain 4 years of eligibility over 5 years. Happens all the time. Guys graduate from Ivy’s and go on to pitch one more year at other schools. I can think of three off the top of my head in the last two years without even looking.
The Ivy does not allow red shirting per se. But, it does grant an athlete who is physicially unable to perform for the majority of a given season an extra year of conference eligibility, provided that athlete remains a full time undergrad while competing. For that reason, kids who are hurt early in their season or in preseason will withdraw from school for a semester or a full year so they can gain an extra year of competition.
As far as kids transferring after they graduate, remember that it is no longer required to declare a red shirt year. As long as an athlete doesn’t meet the minimum participation requirements in a given year, he or she will retain his or her eligibility for a fifth year. So a wrestler who does not compete in the requisite number of matches as a freshman at Cornell can remain a varsity wrestler at Cornell for four years, finish his degree and then go wrestle a year at Syracuse while working on a masters.
@nhparent9, I agree with you on Wharton, but that is an exception. I would also say a CS, Physics, Engineering, Math major (or even a Humanities or Social Science major with a good amount of quantitative courses under his/her belt) from a top university would have the same chances as the Wharton undergrad, and much better than a business major from most programs or even the same university if it had a business major, academic achievement being equal. My point to the OP was to reexamine whether focusing on a dual major with an MBA after 5 years was going to unduly limit and affect his choices and undergrad experience.
@BKSquared that is one of the biggest reasons my two top choices are Dartmouth and Washington St. Louis. The second has a top business program (as does Dartmouth for grad school) but they both offer those liberal arts options that many other schools don’t. My dad was a history major and he now works in business so I know that it can be done. He has told me basically the same thing you have and I think you’re both right. If I do decide to major in business I will be sure to take some other liberal arts classes that interest and engage me, hopefully while making me more well rounded in the process as well.
@nhparent9 I know I could possibly find it if I looked it up, but I have a question for you: does the MBA affect how much you’re paid? Say a Wharton undergrad and some other guy from a top 50 grad school with an MBA get hired at the same time. 10 years later, can you tell the difference? Is the MBA paid more? Or does it not matter due to promotions, raises, etc.?
@Ohiodad51 that makes much more sense to me now. It is odd how they do that, as it doesn’t really seem like a deterrent. All it does is encourage kids to bend the rules a bit. Alas, just another example of the ivies trying to be different! Oh well. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there if I need to. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
Based on personal knowledge, for Wall Street investment banks (and most financial institutions), an undergrad business degree grad, even from Wharton, absent prior relevant business experience, will start in an entry level position (usually 2 year analyst contract) along with everyone else and be paid the same base salary. Bonuses will be determined by how the firm and the department do and how well you do. The degree gets tossed out once you start. If an MBA from a lesser program can only get a job in the same entry level position, they will be paid the same. After your analyst contract is finished, the firm may offer you a direct promotion into an associate position (relatively rare but becoming more common, at least in the top banks), or encourage you to get your MBA then.
MBA’s starting positions usually are at an associate level in an investment bank or equivalent position in other institutions. Their compensation is significantly higher than an analyst.
Long term, how far you advance and how much you get paid depends on your firm, your niche and your own talent and efforts and some degree of luck.
I wouldn’t be in a position to argue BKSquared’s above post and think he is probably right. I’d only add that alumni business connections can sometimes be very important.
@BKSquared that was extremely helpful. So I guess my final question would be: should I do a dual degree program where I can get an MBA after 5 years? If I get into a top undergrad business school, should I get my MBA right after graduation or wait until I need to? And if I decide to major in business what are some liberal arts classes that might help make me more well rounded? I love reading, writing and arguing (part of the reason law appeals to me so much) so maybe some English literature classes might be nice. History is interesting as well. @nhparent9 I would love to hear your opinion as well. After this I am done bothering you both! Thanks for all your help.